distilling herbs

Wednesday, 22 September 2010

Thursday, August 26, 2010

Last school year , two groups of students from the Mgr Frencken College, Oosterhout , as part of their profile, concerned themselves with fragrances. One group of high school students have investigated the effect of lemon oil and the influence of concentration. The other group of 5- HAVO pupils experimented with fragrances in general views.

Photo : Wikipedia

This was a great opportunity for me as facilitator to let the students do a steam distillation of essential oil.The steam distillation arrangement of laboratory glass ( see previous post) was excellent for this . Therefore , the pre-university students had cut the shells of 12 lemons into small pieces and placed them in the biomass flask. After 40 minutes distillation they had a yield of about 2 mL.

Photo : Wikipedia

The pupils of 5 havo where distilling orange peels. This group has previously the peels derived from 8 of oranges adjusted this was later yield calculated. The steam - distillation of 454 g peel yielded 2.12 g oil.

This group has also succeeded in their oil to be analyzed at a company laboratory IFF ( International Flavors & Fragrances IFF ( Netherlands ) BV ) in Tilburg . This was a unique opportunity because the equipment in schools is not sufficient to change the oil in a reliable way to investigate. The oil was analyzed using a gas chromatograph , this technique is derived from the separation method chromatography.
With this technique you get information about the composition of the oil. It would be excessive to state the whole chemistry of the essential oil treatment. A comprehensive story of the composition can be read on ; http://www.gielenaroma.nl/index.php?page=werkzame-bestanddelenA database on the composition of essential oil can be found at : http://www.thegoodscentscompany.com/essentlx.html

Source : Kennislink

The types of substances ( molecules) in essential oil can roughly be divided into:

ALCOHOLS

Aldehydes

ALKANES

Carboxy - ACIDS

Terpenes

ESTERS

ETHERS

FURANOIDEN

KETONES

Lactones

Oxides

PHENOLS

Orange oil is an important fragrance determining substance the terpene ( R )- Limonene . This molecule is the mirror image of ( L )- Limonene a substance that is characteristic of the smell of lemon oil. The following gas chromatogram is the result of a measurement with the gas chromatograph of the orange oil that the students had made .

gas chromatogram orange oil

Each peak in the chromatogram represents a substance . The results of this chromatogram was compared (computer) with existing data of the substances. The measurement yielded 23 identified substances .

I have compared the results with the average composition of orange oil in the book 'The chemistry of essential oils made simple '. The results I have rankedin the following table

Citrus sinensis

sweet orange
measurement IFF

monoterpenes 90-95 %

d- limonene 85-90 % 86.16 %

myrcene 1.3 % 3.61 %

terpinolene 1-2 % 0.01 %

tetracyclic terpenes 4-8 % -----

aldehydes 3-8 %

citral 1.2 % -----

decanal 1-2 % 0.88 %

citronellal 0-1 % 0.10 %

Dead canal 0-1 % 0.25 %

alpha sinensal 0-1 % 0.13 %

geranial ------ 0.26 %

Alcohols 2-6 %

carveol 1-2 %

linalool 1.2 % 1.85 %

alpha- terpineol 0-1 % 0.25 %

geraniol 0-1 % 0.22 %

1- octanol ------ 0.66 %

1- nonanol ------ 0.10 %

1- decanol ------ 0.35 %

sesquiterpenes --------

beta ylangeen ------- 0.11 %

beta - farnesene ------- 0.03 %

ketones 1-4 % --------

esters 2-3 %

citronellylacetaat 0-1 % -------

geranylacetaat 0-1 % 0.02 %

Furanoides 1-2 % --------

Sesquiterpenones 0-1 %

nootkatone 0-1 % 0.06 %

In addition to large contracts , for example the amount of d - limonene , decanal and linalool are also some differences in composition . This may be the origin and production of oil. The percentages given are cold-pressed orange peel. The oil of the students is by steam distillation obtained .

Last year I started steamdistillation using a distillation apparatus of laboratory glassware

I had seen a picture on the Internet of some steam distillation set. The price that was asked , over $ 400 plus shipping , far over my budget. Therefore, I asked a glass supplier ( http://www.lgsbv.com/ ) if he was able to supply this type of glassware.

boiling flask 2 liters

This was possible for the amount of € 220 , - . One month later I was the proud owner of this glass distilling unit. The setup consists of a boiling flask with a capacity of 2 liters, a Biomass flask (Pyrex®; 2-litre

biomass flask 2000 mL with distillation structure

The connection to the coil cooler is made with a distillation setup.

coil condenser

For boiling I use an electric cooker .
In the months June , July and August of 2009 I started working with the distillation of a number of plant parts. For this I filled the biomassflask with the plant parts and caught the distillate .
The revenues were disappointing , but could be explained . A volume of 2 liters fresh picked herbs is little ground when you know that the most essential oil containing herbs give a yield of 1% of the plant parts.

distillation design

In the months June , July and August I went to work with a number of plants .
The distillation of chamomile resulted in a pretty strong hydrosol , but chamomile oil only visible as a pair of little blue strings floating in the hydrosol . A hemisphere filled with freshly picked rosemary gave it a fragrant distillate but not a drop of oil. On distillation of coin the same story. Only distilling faded lavender gave a yield of approximately 2 mL fragant oil.
The disadvantage was that a portion of the proceeds remained in the distillation bridge. It is possible to produce oil with this setup !

Friday, July 23, 2010

On Friday, July 9 , I picked a large amount of lavandin at the lavender farm Viva - Lavandula farm. The Lavandin official Lavandula intermedia var . was dryed in 24 mesh trays in a well ventilated area.

I expected that during the drying the essential oil of lavender for a part would be released. That did not happen . Only when touching the drying plant parts , the typical lavender scent escaped.

On Wednesday 21 and Thursday, July 22 , I decided to distill a part of the dried Lavandin.

It was exactly 800 grams Lavandin in the alembic .

During the eucalypt feast in Steenwijkerwold a visitor had told me that he used aluminium tape for sealing his still. Thus far, I used a paste made from rye flour and water. Works well but is rather laborious .

Photo : Frank Stolvoort

So every reason to try this method in the distillation of Lavandin .

Steam leaks were easy to solve by the tape (with a glove ) just to press the tape or tape around to leak.

Lavandin , has greater yield of essential oil compared with lavandula, this was during distillation actually already visible.

On Wednesday and Thursday I have distilled 4 times a quantity of 800 grams.

The essential oil , I per day collected was filtered and put in dropper bottles. To increase yields I've collected the hydrosol , 15 filled wine bottles with a total volume of 12

Liter , and distilled in the alembic cast. It gained another 5 mL extra of oil.

In total I produced 80 mL lavender oil which is converted 2.5 % yield of the dried Lavandin .

I 'm not sure , but I think there is not much distilled lavender and in the Netherlands cultivated Lavandin oil available!

Tuesday, July 20, 2010

On Friday, July 16th was the day. I was able to work with fresh flown in eucalyptus leaves from Galicia . Gustavo had the leaves airtight in plastic bags and numbered.

On Friday it was not clear wich bags the eucalyptus species were in. I have therefore decided to start with bag 1 to 4 to start.

The total weight of 2000 grams of leaves were firmly pressed into the column of the alembic

After Catherina sealed the alembic with rye flour paste the burner could be ignited.

Just before the water in the kettle began to boil actually something inevitable happened ! The glass table was not withstand as much heat from the burner and broke into pieces .

Fortunately remained damage was so limited that after clearing the shards the distillation apparatus could be put together. The alembic did have some badly damaged.

The two kilograms of eucalyptus leaves ( E.globulus ) were distilled for over 2 hours .

The total volume produced essential oil was 18 mL . With a quick calculation to get off to a yield of 1 % .

The witch Eucalypta was obviously right on the scent of fresh eucalyptus oil !

She liked the smell . The proceeds of the oil , I have divided into two vials.

The distilled leaves were then removed with a new load of eucalyptus leaves to start .

The new batch of leaves were in the pockets 5 to 8 and had a total weight of 1550 grams. After 2 hours distilled I produced 6 mL of essential oil. It later appeared that this leaves were a mixture of two species eucalyptus included E. nitens and E. globulus .

There were plenty of eucalyptus leaves about for two distillations . From an email from Gustavo I read that the bags 9 to 13 E.nitens contain the small pockets 14 and 15 young leaves of E.nitens .

The leaves of 9 to 13 had a total weight of 3585 grams and fits perfect in the alembic .

After 3.5 hours distilled I had 15 grams of oil produced.

Converted a yield of about 0.5% . There was a difference in yield between E.globulus 1 % and E. nitens 0.5 % . The final distillation of young leaves was not really carry out . The amount of 320 grams of leaves was not enough essential oil to drain . The produced oil about 0.5 mL was increasing to funnel down.

photo Frank Stolvoort

According to Gustavo:

Your results for E. globulus are similar to Those quoted by Bosisto today : 0.75 to 1.25 % richness in crude oil . Lower Than what is quoted in scientific literature , but there is always a difference Between fully controlled laboratory conditions and industrial operations (even if at a small scale ) . Your results for E. nitens are Useful too .

Eucalyptus is in perfumes often used because it is a strong medicinal smell. It is in such cases essentially a top note . The top is fresh with the characteristic odor of cineol in the heart , the freshness largely disappeared , but caused some green notes .

Eucalyptus can in soaps be used , it gives a certain freshness , but is a strong fixative need . It is also an important oil in aromatherapy and also as a home remedy for colds . Eucalyptus oil supports breathing. They regenerate lung tissue, mucus problems and the drain promote . Also works sedative in strong cough stimuli . In the spiritual domain the refreshing and stimulating. It increases concentration and supports logical thinking .

Eucalyptus oil is often used in medications for respiratory illnesses, asthma , bronchitis , colds and laryngitis.

Furthermore, eucalyptus oil a the powerful natural disinfectant that is often added to detergents .

eucalyptus oil:

Do not use in children and pregnant women. used topically is Eucalyptus oil ( diluted ) is not toxic. Internally , however , a small amount of 3.5 ml can be fatal.

Attention ! essential oils are highly concentrated. use them Never purely on the skin unless explicitly stated that it does. For intake of essential oils or other specific medications , we recommend a qualified aromatherapist to consult .

Eucalyptus oil is irritating to eyes , skin and respiratory tract. Furthermore, flammable , so take care with aroma burners : get here enough water in it . When swallowed may cause lung damage. limonene , a substance that some people are allergic response.

STEAM DISTILLATION

Steam Distillation is a chemical separation method used for the purification of substances. This method was first (in the middle ) used by the Arabs who steam distillation used to make of essential oils .

An important application of steam distillation is the extraction of essential oils . This is steam through a barrel of the processing plant parts resulted . The steam cools then down and condenses. The volatile components of the plant with the steam it and condensing too. Some of these volatile compounds dissolved in water and some not, it separates . Because this water insoluble part mostly lighter than water remains on water float and can there be gutters this called the ethereal oil. The water is called hydrosol . This hydrosol is primarily used to combat respiratory infections, upper respiratory infections, colds , flu , coughs and hay fever allergies. Good to gargle , as mouthwash or to cough syrup make , if necessary with a drop eo Not for use in children. The stabililteit of the hydrosol is not known. Best before 18 months if in a cool place stored , freeze can .

Important for the distillation process , the distribution of plant material . The cell walls of some plants are very thin , so that steam, water , solvents , the ability to penetrate . Other materials should be prepared. The materials are prepared , then the distillation begin immediately associated with the volatility of the material.